The defendants involved in a debt collection scheme at the Tiền Giang Provincial People’s Court on Friday. — VNA/VNS Photo

TIỀN GIANG — The Tiền Giang Provincial People’s Court has rendered severe sentences for a total of 111 defendants involved in a debt collection scheme orchestrated for the benefit of banks.

Among them was Trần Văn Châu, deputy director of Pháp Việt Company, who received a 19-year prison term, and his primary accomplice, Hồ Quốc Hưng, who received a sentence of 18 years in prison, for extortion activities.

Other defendants, including 89 employees of the company, received prison sentences ranging from one to 13 years.

The court on Friday also mandated all defendants return the illicit profits obtained through their criminal activities.

Specifically, Châu is required to repay VNĐ15 billion (US$600,000), while Hưng must return VNĐ12 billion. Other defendants are obliged to repay amounts between VNĐ20 million and over VNĐ1 billion.

Authorities have confiscated various properties and vehicles associated with the two main defendants.

The court has ordered the continued freezing of the defendants’ assets.

In addition, authorities have ordered seven banks and financial institutions to remit the funds collected by Pháp Việt Company from customers, as these funds are believed to be connected to the defendants’ criminal activities.

The trial, which commenced in Mỹ Tho City earlier this month, revealed the crime was organised with Châu and Hưng playing major roles in “unauthorised debt collection activities”.

From January 2021 to February 2023, the two men exploited the name of the company to establish legal consulting contracts with various commercial banks and lending firms, while engaging in “illegal debt collection”.

According to investigators, the group received commission fees ranging from 18 - 50 per cent of the total amount collected, contingent upon the duration of the overdue debt.

Châu and Hưng directed a workforce of 579 employees who intimidated nearly 173,000 borrowers, extorting a total of VNĐ456 billion ($18.2 million).

From this extorted amount, they managed to profit over VNĐ168 billion through their illicit services, according to investigators.

A serious incident involved threats directed at an elementary school in the province’s Cai Lậy Town, which led to an eight-year-old girl ceasing her attendance due to fear.

The incident arose from a debt of VNĐ50 million owed by the girl’s uncle, who had fled after failing to repay the debt.

In July, the HCM City People’s Court sentenced seven former employees of a lending company to nearly five years in prison for unauthorised debt collection practices.

They were found to have sent threatening messages to hundreds of thousands of customers to coerce repayment of debts. — VNS